


A Rainy Night, Four Years Later

by twistyhunter



Category: No. 6 - All Media Types
Genre: Drabble, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Reunion, Sad, basically another reunion will come fic, but sad in a good way, reunion will come, time to get sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2018-05-23
Packaged: 2019-05-10 12:06:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14736657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twistyhunter/pseuds/twistyhunter
Summary: If he turned and Nezumi was there, he was dreaming. If he turned and Nezumi wasn’t there, it was a nightmare.He heard the window close behind him. In his dreams… the windows had always stayed open. He wasn’t asleep.





	A Rainy Night, Four Years Later

**Author's Note:**

> A short drabble written for my roommate who was REALLY dissatisfied with the anime's ending. Mixed in some novel and anime details together, so hopefully she'll enjoy it. 
> 
> Happy Reading! c:

It was raining.

The clouds were painted in dark grays and blues, and Shion couldn’t stop staring out of the window of his office. Small hills of paperwork were piled evenly across his desk, different reports from the multiple departments of the Reconstruction Committee, but his eyes were locked on the sky. The soft pattering of the raindrops against the glass was a mantra for his mind to wander… he often found himself wasting hours like this nowadays.

Wasting wasn’t the word for it. He was waiting, watching the world outside through the window of whatever building he was in. He was searching.

There had to be something, some kind of sign that Nezumi would come back. When he stared up at the rolling storm clouds, he wanted to curse their colors as much as he wanted to embrace them and never let go of them again. Had he been angry that Nezumi left? No… He knew better. Shion remembered how the rusty sand had shimmered off of Nezumi’s eyes when he looked off to the horizon, and how he started walking in the direction that the wind blew his hair.

He remembered how badly he wanted to reach out and grab his shoulder and force him to stay, how much his arm burned, like the tears in the corners of his eyes.

The window was close now, but a raindrop slid down his cheek.

Shion shook his head, wiping his face as Tsukiyo slid out from behind one of the stacks of papers, peeking up at him with his large, grape-colored eyes. His once all-black coat was peppered with small streaks of white; he was getting older now… He was one of the few mice that Nezumi had that wasn’t robotic, and the only one that Nezumi had left behind. Cravat and Hamlet had run off with him, and he wondered if they slept by Nezumi’s ears to keep him warm, like they did in the library. He carefully reached out to stroke his back, and he seemed to nuzzle up into his hand, with a slight urgency.

“I know. I’ll read to you when my work is done… I guess I shouldn’t be spacing out so much or else I’ll never get around it.”

Shion slid on his reading glasses, which he needed now to work, and started to sift through the papers, taking notes on the correct course of action they needed to take. He had dedicated himself to rebuild No.6, even though it wasn’t really No.6 anymore. Even after four years of the wall coming down, the name stuck. No matter how many sleepless nights Shion ignored what _No.6_ was, the name still was printed at the top of all of his papers. He hadn’t loathed No.6, but what it had done… and what it was going to be once his work was done deserved a better name than that.

Crimson eyes slowly gravitated upwards over the dark rims of his glasses, eyeing the rain every now and then. If not for Tsukiyo’s annoyed chirps, he probably would have done nothing at all. Still, he was glad that she was here, to ground him from such hopeful thoughts. It wasn’t that he doubted Nezumi’s return -- _Reunion will come,_ still echoed through his dreams every night in that even voice that Nezumi had-- it was just… he had learned to let go of his impatience. At least, he’d like to think so.

He shook his head and went back to work, spending the next few hours clearing off his desk, filing what needed to be filed, writing out digital messages and arranging his meetings for the week, and even when his desk was clear and his holographic monitor showed an empty inbox, it was still raining.

When Shion’s eyes found themselves on the window, they didn’t watch the storm clouds. They were locked on the windowsill. A small tuft of white was sitting there, off-white from the rain soaking through it. Hamlet was there, pawing at the window, and Shion leapt from his office chair to open it for him. The window flew open, a mighty blast of wind ripping through his hair, and the rain smacked his face in his heavy, icy drops, but he crouched down to the windowsill and opened his palm for Hamlet to crawl into. Despite the cold rain dripping from his fur and onto Shion’s skin, Hamlet was still warm in his hand.

“Hey… where did you come from?” Shion breathed, his voice inaudible under the wind. Hamlet only slipped into the sleeve of his sweater and ran up to his shoulder, crawling up and nuzzling his neck, right beneath his ear. Amidst his amused laughter, Cravat wriggled over the window ledge and he could feel his small paws catching on his pant leg, until he crawled up Shion’s body completely until he nested himself in Shion’s hair. “Hey-- that tickles!”

For a moment, Shion stepped back from the window in fear that the mice would blow away. He appreciated the warmth of their small bodies running around on his person, and almost missed them when they crawled away to meet up with Tsukiyo on the desk. He watched as the three of them circled each other, nuzzling and sniffing and relearning the scents of each other. He smiled… his expression softening as he took a step towards them.

“When I told them which way I was going, they took off. Seems like they beat me.”

Shion froze.

It was that voice he knew, like crumpled velvet brushing over his ears. The sound made him shiver, and he hoped it just seemed like he was cold from the rain now pelting his back. He took a breath, trying to keep it steady despite the rising lump in his throat. If he turned and Nezumi was there, he was dreaming. If he turned and Nezumi wasn’t there, it was a nightmare.

He heard the window close behind him. In his dreams… the windows had always stayed open. He wasn’t asleep.

“What, you’re not even going to look at me? That’s no way to treat your guests, Your Majesty.”

“Nezumi.”

The room was so quiet that Shion could have believed he was talking to no one at all. However, he heard boots slowly step over the tile, coming closer. As Shion finally began to turn, a bolt of lightning flashed outside. It was only within a fraction of a second, but a thousand thoughts ran through his mind. Almost each one of them ended with _Nezumi_.

“You wear glasses now? You really do look like a politician.”

When the white glare from the lightning vanished, a figure was left in its place beside him. Broad shoulders swathed in a dark cloth, navy, almost black hair cascading down, but just past his ears now… it was shorter than Shion had remembered, but those eyes he had been missing for so long, the gray of a typhoon that sucked him in every time… Nezumi didn’t even flinch when the thunder clapped loud enough behind him that it shook the window. In fact… his lips slowly pulled into a smile.

“Shion.” He watched as the sharpness of Nezumi’s eyes dulled into something softer, his tone quieter than before. It was that kind of gentle expression that only he had seen… he had never seen Nezumi wear such a face outside of the library.

“Nezumi!”

Shion couldn’t stop himself from lunging forward, nearly tackling Nezumi where he stood. He wrapped his arms around him, clinging to him tightly, as though even the small breeze from the air conditioning would blow him away if he didn’t hold on. “Is that the only word you can say, now?” Despite Nezumi’s teasing words, Shion could feel his arms slowly wrap around him, and Shion was drowned in that scent of old books and rainwater that he had missed for so long. He hadn’t been able to drink it in in years, but that time suddenly didn’t matter. Shion buried his face in Nezumi’s chest, and he felt Nezumi’s chin rest on top of his head.

“I… Nezumi-- you’re here… you came back,” Shion said, blinking back the tears threatening to fall. He was glad that Nezumi had already been soaked from the rain.

“ _Reunion will come_. We vowed that, remember?” He answered. His breath was even, but Shion could feel Nezumi’s heartbeat through his clothes. It was faster the more that Shion curled himself into Nezumi. “Shion…”

His name was spoken so softly that Shion hardly heard it, but it made his heart ache. Or maybe that was the feeling of his heart returning to his chest. When Nezumi had left, he had taken Shion’s heart with him, so now, with their bodies pressed together so tightly, Shion could feel the emptiness in his chest refilling, making room for all of those feelings he had longed for since he had watched Nezumi disappear over the horizon. He was home.


End file.
